![Moroccan Sintir Left-hand Side](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Moroccan_Sintir_Left-hand_Side.png)
The sintir ( ar, سنتير), also known as the guembri (), gimbri or hejhouj or Garaya in Hausa language, is a three stringed skin-covered
bass plucked
lute used by the
Gnawa
The Gnawa (or Gnaoua, Ghanawa, Ghanawi, Gnawi'; Arabic: ڭناوة) are an ethnic group inhabiting Morocco.
The name Gnawa probably originated in the indigenous language of North Africa and the Sahara Desert. The phonology of this term accordi ...
people. It is approximately the size of a
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
, with a body carved from a log and covered on the playing side with
camel skin. The camel skin has the same acoustic function as the membrane on a
banjo. The neck is a simple stick with one short and two long goat strings that produce a percussive sound similar to a
pizzicato
Pizzicato (, ; translated as "pinched", and sometimes roughly as "plucked") is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of instrument :
* On bowe ...
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...
or
double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...
.
![Lotar (Berber instrument)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Lotar_%28Berber_instrument%29.jpg)
The goat gut
strings are plucked downward with the knuckle side of the
index finger
The index finger (also referred to as forefinger, first finger, second finger, pointer finger, trigger finger, digitus secundus, digitus II, and many other terms) is the second digit of a human hand. It is located between the thumb and the mid ...
and the inside of the
thumb. The hollowed canoe shaped wooden body resonates a percussive tone created by knuckles slapping the camel neck top of the body while the thumb and index finger are plucking the strings. The lowest string on the sintir is a drone note and the second string, the highest in pitch, is tuned an octave higher and is never fretted. The third string is tuned a fourth above the drone. The buzzing sound often heard emanating from the sintir is caused by metal rings dangling off of a galvanized metal feather mounted on the end of the sintir's neck. The feather and rings vibrate in rhythm with the sintir.
The body of the instrument is hollowed out from a single piece of wood, and covered with
camel or goat
A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...
skin. The long neck passes through the top of the body and runs under the face, coming out through the skin near the base of the instrument, to serve as a tailpiece or string-carrier. The sliding leather tuning rings and the rattle-like metal sound modifier are commonly found in such
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...
n instruments as the
kora and the
xalam
Xalam (in Serer, or khalam in Wolof) is a traditional stringed musical instrument from West Africa with 1-5 strings.
The xalam is commonly played in Mali, Gambia, Senegal, Niger, Northern Nigeria, Northern Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and ...
(lute). The percussive playing style is reminiscent not only of West African technique but also of certain styles of
American banjo picking.
As the sintir is used mainly by Gnawa (North Africans of
Sub-Saharan African descent), it is likely that the instrument derives from similar skin-covered lutes of the region around
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...
or other areas of the
Sahel (such as the ''
ngoni'', ''
xalam
Xalam (in Serer, or khalam in Wolof) is a traditional stringed musical instrument from West Africa with 1-5 strings.
The xalam is commonly played in Mali, Gambia, Senegal, Niger, Northern Nigeria, Northern Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and ...
'', or ''
hoddu
Xalam (in Serer, or khalam in Wolof) is a traditional stringed musical instrument from West Africa with 1-5 strings.
The xalam is commonly played in Mali, Gambia, Senegal, Niger, Northern Nigeria, Northern Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and ...
'').
Styles
![Chordophone (Cordophone)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Chordophone_%28Cordophone%29.jpg)
Sintirs are usually applied to different styles of music:
Tagnawit: music of the
Gnawa
The Gnawa (or Gnaoua, Ghanawa, Ghanawi, Gnawi'; Arabic: ڭناوة) are an ethnic group inhabiting Morocco.
The name Gnawa probably originated in the indigenous language of North Africa and the Sahara Desert. The phonology of this term accordi ...
people. The guembri they use is the biggest: a long body, rectangular in shape. There is a hole in the skin at the bridge area for enhanced acoustics. Three strings are used, two that reach the end of the neck, and one that reaches the middle. The two strings are tuned in fourths and used to be fixed to the circular neck using a special knotting, although over the last decade standard tuning pegs for guitar or bass has become increasingly popular. How the strings stay in tune is a mystery has to do with the quality of the string, humidity in the air and making the braided leather strips holding the strings wet with saliva, so they don't move. The shorter string, which is also thinner, is tuned like the lowest string and is considered a drone string. Depending on the family, style or tradition there are different keys to the
tuning
Tuning can refer to:
Common uses
* Tuning, the process of tuning a tuned amplifier or other electronic component
* Musical tuning, musical systems of tuning, and the act of tuning an instrument or voice
** Guitar tunings
** Piano tuning, adjusti ...
. The most common ones however are C, F, D and G. When the Gnawa are clapping and not playing with the
krakebs
Qraqeb or garagab ( ar, قراقب), in English often transliterated as krakeb, are a large iron castanet-like musical instrument primarily used as the rhythmic aspect of Gnawa music. Gnawa today is part of the North African culture and is inhe ...
(a form of
castanets
Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a simil ...
), it is not uncommon to add a piece of metal that rings when the guembri is played (sersara). The plucking of the strings is done with the thumb and/or the index, and sometimes the player hits the body under the strings for a percussive sound. The Gnawa player who plays with the guembri is called the
Maalem, the master of ceremonies. The Gnawa also refer to the guembri as hajhouj or sintir. The most popular guembri players in traditional and popular music are the late
Abderahmane "Paco" Kiruche and
Mahmoud Gania- both from
Essaouira - the brothers
Ahmed &
Mustapha Baqbou
Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى
, Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world.
Given name Mou ...
of
Marrakech,
Abdelkader Amlil and
Majid Bekkas
Majid Bekkas (, born 1957 in Salé, Morocco), also known as Abdelmajid Bekkas, is a Moroccan musician on guembri, oud, guitar and vocals, who is internationally known for his contributions to World music and Ethno jazz with North African roots ...
of
Rabat, and
Hamid al Kasri originally from
Ksar El Kebir
El-Ksar el Kebir (Arabic language, Arabic: القصر الكبير; ber, ⵍⵇⵚⵔ ⵍⴽⴱⵉⵔ, lqṣr lkbir) is a city in northwestern Morocco, about 160 km north of Rabat, 32 km east of Larache and 110 km south of Tangi ...
in the north of the country, but since many years living in the capital.
Izlan s
Tamazight
The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight,, ber, label=Tuareg Tifinagh, ⵜⵎⵣⵗⵜ, ) are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related languages spoken by Berber communi ...
: sung poetry by the Berbers of the
Middle Atlas
The Middle Atlas (Amazigh: ⴰⵟⵍⴰⵙ ⴰⵏⴰⵎⵎⴰⵙ, ''Atlas Anammas'', Arabic: الأطلس المتوسط, ''al-Aṭlas al-Mutawassiṭ'') is a mountain range in Morocco. It is part of the Atlas mountain range, a mountainous region ...
and
High Atlas
High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas ( ar, الأطلس الكبير, Al-Aṭlas al-Kabīr; french: Haut Atlas; shi, ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ ⵏ ⴷⵔⵏ ''Adrar n Dern''), is a mountain range in central Morocco, North Africa, the highest part of t ...
. It has a body the size of a
lute or
mandolin, but the neck is usually longer and thicker. Unlike the gumebri of Gnawa, this one has wooden tuners. There are usually four strings (although five is not unusual) tuned in fourths as well. Common tunings are A standard or C standard. It is played similar to a lute, however it has its own tonal range, scales and key progressions that are particular to the Berbers. The main artist plays the lute and sings, accompanied by
bendir players and backing singers which can include both men and women. To the Berbers, this type of guembri is more widely known as
loutaralthough in the Jebala area it is actually called a guembri. Popular loutar players are
Mohamed Rouicha
Mohamed Rouicha ( ar, محمد رويشة; 1950 – 17 January 2012) was a Moroccan folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** F ...
,
Hammou Oulyazid,
Hajjaoui and
Mohamed Mssmodi Al Hamadi and
Maghni.
Malhun
Malhun (Arabic الملحون / ALA-LC: ''al-malḥūn''), meaning "the melodic poem", is a form of music that originated in Morocco.Mounira SolimanPopular Culture in the Middle East and North Africa: A Postcolonial Outlook p.58 (Routledge 2013) ...
: sung poetry in
Moroccan colloquial Arabic (
Darija
Maghrebi Arabic (, Western Arabic; as opposed to Eastern or Mashriqi Arabic) is a vernacular Arabic dialect continuum spoken in the Maghreb region, in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Western Sahara, and Mauritania. It includes Moroccan, Alge ...
). It is similar to the loutar in shape, but much smaller in size. It is not used as the main string instrument; rather it is used to provide
timbre
In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voices and musica ...
contrast to the music. It is sometimes called guenbri as well.
References
External links
Gnawaa artistsat ''
National Geographic''
{{Authority control
Spike lutes
Drumhead lutes
Algerian musical instruments
Moroccan musical instruments